To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

The
BANNER
Volume XXXII, Number 10
California Baptist College
March 25,1988
Disease of complacency infects school, country
Imagine a disease. A horrible disease more contagious than the black
plague, more painful than cancer,
more deadly than AIDS. Now imagine a country, an entire country in
Commentary
by D. Nathaniel Alway
which this disease has spread to.
enormous proportions. In essence,
imagine a dying country. You have
just imagined the United States.
The disease that has so thoroughly
stricken us is pleasure, just plain old
quiet pleasure. More precisely, a
"quiet pleasure based on self-
inr;rfG
* vt | *V.
Riverside Antiphonal Fete
>le will join otter local choirs i
led on Magnolia, across from Riverside
bs for graduating seniors
live ca coops
am. io 2:00 p.m. to give (
nd answer questions. Appii
si and interviews cooductec
April 13th from 8:30 a.m. until i :20 p.m.
Spring Break will begin after last class on
son
■-
satisfaction often coupled with a lack
of awareness of existing and potential problems." This is most commonly referred to as complacency.
This quiet but malignant ailment
is destroying the vitality of our great
nation, yet we are not even aware
that we have been afflicted. Like
Prince Prospero in Poe's "Masque of
the Red Death," we run from problems and build walls around ourselves to protect ourselves from
them. Inside our walls, we throw
gala balls and pretend that reality
does not exist, living out our feeble
existences in blissful ignorance.
This nation-wide disaster is readily
exemplified in this school, our own
walled castle.
This is 1988. Surprise, surprise,
it's not just leap year or an Olympic
year. This year also happens to be
an...election year. But many of us
are not aware of who is running or
why! I was recently asked who Bob
Dole was. I though I was being put
on, but this person really did not
know! Another person inquired of
me if I felt Dukakis would beat Bush
for the Republican nomination. I
felt a pain deep inside of me, for I
knew that such occurrences are not
uncommon.
People simply do not care enough
about their freedom to find out about
candidates who are going to determine the destiny of our nation. Furthermore, we Americans have the
lowest voter turnout of any nation.
Here we have more freedom than any
other people, yet we do not take
steps to reserve it There are people
all over the world who are imprisoned for speaking out and trying to
vote, and we won't take the fifteen
minutes it takes to punch holes in a
ballot!
At many basketball games this
year, I was appalled to see people
casually stand aroud, talking and joking with each other during the playing of our national anthem. People
didn't show the most basic courtesies
for the symbol of our liberty. I no
ticed several of our foreign students
paying more reverence to the flag!
People, this is dangerous behavior!
We'are taking for granted a commodity that few others even dream of
possessing. Are we saying by this
crass complacency that we do not
truly desire the gifts which have
been so graciously bestowed on us?
Then maybe we should turn this
country over to our refugees, who
came seeking freedom. Maybe we
should all request Daniel Ortega to
grant us political asylum in Nicaragua. Better yet, maybe we should
just make this a dictatorship and invite Khomeini or Khaddafi or Botha
over to be our first ruler.
Fortunately, complacency is a curable disease,._Cure does notjequire.
any fancy medical treatments or medications. Just some determination
and a little time. First, we must tear
down our walls and knock down our
castles. We cannnot hide from the
world, we must face it. Next, we
must acquaint ourselves with issues
that affect us. What is supply-side
ecomonics? Who is running for office and what do thjy stand for?
How are our tax dollars spent?
After exposing ourselves to the
world and its issues, we must form
opinions. We cannot live our entire
lives believing what our parents or
friends believe. We must believe in
something because of personal convictions. We need to know why or
why not we support certain candidates or initiatives. Once we form
opinions, we must use our constitutional rights and vote. We must express our opinions and try to change
the things we do not like. We absolutely must not lock these things
out and try forgetting about them.
The last line, of Eofi'^itorv. reads
"And Darkness and Decay and the
Red Death held illimitable dominion
over all." I sincerely hope that complacency will not grow until it holds
"illimitable dominion" over us and
over the fabulous country in which
we live.
Current trends in U.S. education discouraging
(CPS)--U.S. students trail their
foreign counterparts in science
knowledge, placing almost last in
achievement tests given in 17 nations, according to a major new
study.
Another report released last week
determined that most young kids-
regardless of country- believe the
earth is flat.
The Second International Science
Study (ISS) found American students
in the fifth, ninth and 12th grades
performed poorly compared to students from other countries. U.S.
students, the ISS found, finished last
or almost last in biology, physics,
chemistry and other sciences.
In fact, many U.S. students performed no better than if they would
have guessed the answers.
"I'm not surprised," said Dr. Michael McCormick, the biology department chairman at Montclair
State College (N.J.). "The United
States is ignorant in many areas
compared to other nations."
"The data paint a dismal picture of
science education in the United
States today," said Bassam Shak-
hashirir of the National Science
Foundation.
The study, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement,
ranked U.S. fifth-graders eighth
among 15 countries in overall
science knowledge. Ninth-graders
finished 15th out of 17 nations,
while American high school seniors
enrolled in advanced science classes
finished last in test administered to
more than 200,000 students in 7,500
schools worldwide between 1983 and
1986.
Children from Japan, Korea, Holland, Hungary, England and Singapore generally recorded the best
scores.
Although American educators
agree U.S. students are not receiving
the science education other nations
provide, they're wary of the study itself.
"I'd like to see how it was conducted," said Vincent Sindt, the director of the University of Wyoming
Science and Math Teaching Center.
"If the test just measured the quick
recall of facts, let 'em have it. If it
was a measure of how students think
or reason, then I'd be worried."
"There are a lot of statistical problems," said McCormick. Education
in the United States, he said, is mandatory, while other nations don't re
quire all children to attend school.
Consequently, all U.S. testtakers
were competing against only the
most academically talented students
in foreign countries.
Still, there are those who say
American attitudes about education
see Education, pg. 4
Students for Constructive Reform and
Awareness to address college issues
A new student action group, Stu- life, and resident life. Under each
dents for Constructive Reform and area they are listing issues which the
Awareness, recently began meeting student body wants to address,
on campus. "We h0^ t0 meet witn the deans
"A positive voice concerned with and staff in charge of these areas,"
the betterment of Cal Baptist," is said Pryfogle.
how Daniel Pryfogle sees this new Other SCRA officers include Tama
group of which he is chairman. Knight, Vice-Chairman, and Brent
The organization's defined purpose Sanders, Secretary-Treasurer,
is "to establish a continuous dia- Committee heads are Keri Weirich,
logue between the students, faculty, academics; Kevin Pope, resident life;
administration, and trustees of the Dan Kohn, student life; and Brad
College; to raise the awareness of Jensen, publicity,
the student body to issues affecting In the coming weeks, SCRA will
them; and, to lobby on behalf of the begin registering students for the
students in various College affairs." group. Those interested should see
SCRA has divided its concerns any of the above listed officers,
into three areas: academics, student

The
BANNER
Volume XXXII, Number 10
California Baptist College
March 25,1988
Disease of complacency infects school, country
Imagine a disease. A horrible disease more contagious than the black
plague, more painful than cancer,
more deadly than AIDS. Now imagine a country, an entire country in
Commentary
by D. Nathaniel Alway
which this disease has spread to.
enormous proportions. In essence,
imagine a dying country. You have
just imagined the United States.
The disease that has so thoroughly
stricken us is pleasure, just plain old
quiet pleasure. More precisely, a
"quiet pleasure based on self-
inr;rfG
* vt | *V.
Riverside Antiphonal Fete
>le will join otter local choirs i
led on Magnolia, across from Riverside
bs for graduating seniors
live ca coops
am. io 2:00 p.m. to give (
nd answer questions. Appii
si and interviews cooductec
April 13th from 8:30 a.m. until i :20 p.m.
Spring Break will begin after last class on
son
■-
satisfaction often coupled with a lack
of awareness of existing and potential problems." This is most commonly referred to as complacency.
This quiet but malignant ailment
is destroying the vitality of our great
nation, yet we are not even aware
that we have been afflicted. Like
Prince Prospero in Poe's "Masque of
the Red Death" we run from problems and build walls around ourselves to protect ourselves from
them. Inside our walls, we throw
gala balls and pretend that reality
does not exist, living out our feeble
existences in blissful ignorance.
This nation-wide disaster is readily
exemplified in this school, our own
walled castle.
This is 1988. Surprise, surprise,
it's not just leap year or an Olympic
year. This year also happens to be
an...election year. But many of us
are not aware of who is running or
why! I was recently asked who Bob
Dole was. I though I was being put
on, but this person really did not
know! Another person inquired of
me if I felt Dukakis would beat Bush
for the Republican nomination. I
felt a pain deep inside of me, for I
knew that such occurrences are not
uncommon.
People simply do not care enough
about their freedom to find out about
candidates who are going to determine the destiny of our nation. Furthermore, we Americans have the
lowest voter turnout of any nation.
Here we have more freedom than any
other people, yet we do not take
steps to reserve it There are people
all over the world who are imprisoned for speaking out and trying to
vote, and we won't take the fifteen
minutes it takes to punch holes in a
ballot!
At many basketball games this
year, I was appalled to see people
casually stand aroud, talking and joking with each other during the playing of our national anthem. People
didn't show the most basic courtesies
for the symbol of our liberty. I no
ticed several of our foreign students
paying more reverence to the flag!
People, this is dangerous behavior!
We'are taking for granted a commodity that few others even dream of
possessing. Are we saying by this
crass complacency that we do not
truly desire the gifts which have
been so graciously bestowed on us?
Then maybe we should turn this
country over to our refugees, who
came seeking freedom. Maybe we
should all request Daniel Ortega to
grant us political asylum in Nicaragua. Better yet, maybe we should
just make this a dictatorship and invite Khomeini or Khaddafi or Botha
over to be our first ruler.
Fortunately, complacency is a curable disease,._Cure does notjequire.
any fancy medical treatments or medications. Just some determination
and a little time. First, we must tear
down our walls and knock down our
castles. We cannnot hide from the
world, we must face it. Next, we
must acquaint ourselves with issues
that affect us. What is supply-side
ecomonics? Who is running for office and what do thjy stand for?
How are our tax dollars spent?
After exposing ourselves to the
world and its issues, we must form
opinions. We cannot live our entire
lives believing what our parents or
friends believe. We must believe in
something because of personal convictions. We need to know why or
why not we support certain candidates or initiatives. Once we form
opinions, we must use our constitutional rights and vote. We must express our opinions and try to change
the things we do not like. We absolutely must not lock these things
out and try forgetting about them.
The last line, of Eofi'^itorv. reads
"And Darkness and Decay and the
Red Death held illimitable dominion
over all." I sincerely hope that complacency will not grow until it holds
"illimitable dominion" over us and
over the fabulous country in which
we live.
Current trends in U.S. education discouraging
(CPS)--U.S. students trail their
foreign counterparts in science
knowledge, placing almost last in
achievement tests given in 17 nations, according to a major new
study.
Another report released last week
determined that most young kids-
regardless of country- believe the
earth is flat.
The Second International Science
Study (ISS) found American students
in the fifth, ninth and 12th grades
performed poorly compared to students from other countries. U.S.
students, the ISS found, finished last
or almost last in biology, physics,
chemistry and other sciences.
In fact, many U.S. students performed no better than if they would
have guessed the answers.
"I'm not surprised" said Dr. Michael McCormick, the biology department chairman at Montclair
State College (N.J.). "The United
States is ignorant in many areas
compared to other nations."
"The data paint a dismal picture of
science education in the United
States today" said Bassam Shak-
hashirir of the National Science
Foundation.
The study, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement,
ranked U.S. fifth-graders eighth
among 15 countries in overall
science knowledge. Ninth-graders
finished 15th out of 17 nations,
while American high school seniors
enrolled in advanced science classes
finished last in test administered to
more than 200,000 students in 7,500
schools worldwide between 1983 and
1986.
Children from Japan, Korea, Holland, Hungary, England and Singapore generally recorded the best
scores.
Although American educators
agree U.S. students are not receiving
the science education other nations
provide, they're wary of the study itself.
"I'd like to see how it was conducted" said Vincent Sindt, the director of the University of Wyoming
Science and Math Teaching Center.
"If the test just measured the quick
recall of facts, let 'em have it. If it
was a measure of how students think
or reason, then I'd be worried."
"There are a lot of statistical problems" said McCormick. Education
in the United States, he said, is mandatory, while other nations don't re
quire all children to attend school.
Consequently, all U.S. testtakers
were competing against only the
most academically talented students
in foreign countries.
Still, there are those who say
American attitudes about education
see Education, pg. 4
Students for Constructive Reform and
Awareness to address college issues
A new student action group, Stu- life, and resident life. Under each
dents for Constructive Reform and area they are listing issues which the
Awareness, recently began meeting student body wants to address,
on campus. "We h0^ t0 meet witn the deans
"A positive voice concerned with and staff in charge of these areas"
the betterment of Cal Baptist" is said Pryfogle.
how Daniel Pryfogle sees this new Other SCRA officers include Tama
group of which he is chairman. Knight, Vice-Chairman, and Brent
The organization's defined purpose Sanders, Secretary-Treasurer,
is "to establish a continuous dia- Committee heads are Keri Weirich,
logue between the students, faculty, academics; Kevin Pope, resident life;
administration, and trustees of the Dan Kohn, student life; and Brad
College; to raise the awareness of Jensen, publicity,
the student body to issues affecting In the coming weeks, SCRA will
them; and, to lobby on behalf of the begin registering students for the
students in various College affairs." group. Those interested should see
SCRA has divided its concerns any of the above listed officers,
into three areas: academics, student